#WeAreQvest

Question: Thomas, when did you start at Qvest and how did you end up here?

Thomas Wildenburg: I started at Qvest in the summer of 2017. Previously, I had already worked in studio technology at Westdeutscher Rundfunk for many years parallel to my bachelor's and master's studies. When it came to finding a suitable company for my upcoming master's thesis, a former colleague recommended that I send an application to Qvest.

I was supervised very well here and benefited a lot from the practical orientation. That's why I gladly accepted the offer of a permanent position at Qvest after completing my master's degree.

What is your department responsible for?

The main activity of my department is working on projects in the media and IT sector. We take on a wide range of tasks in the technical context. These include, for example, the new construction of the entire media infrastructure of a TV station or its system renewals or expansions.

In these projects, activities such as planning, commissioning, acceptance of the systems and much more go hand in hand. In some cases, we also help other departments with consulting activities or the preparation of offers.

What does your typical workday look like?

There is actually no such thing as a "typical working day". I'm either in the office in Cologne, in home office or at the customer's site.

At home and in the office, I usually start at 9 a.m. in daily meetings with the project teams I currently work in. Afterwards, I work directly on the customer's systems via VPN, for example, or get involved in planning activities. At lunchtime, we go out to eat together in Cologne, and then I meet with my infrastructure team. There we regularly exchange ideas on general and technical topics.

However, when I'm "on-site", i.e. at the customer's location, my day looks completely different. There, I usually perform specific tasks and work directly on the systems.

What do you like the most about your job?

Above all, the work in the team and the constant variety! The latter is a result of the large number of different projects and the associated challenges, locations and customers.

The regular exchange with my colleagues, the flexibility as well as the free arrangement of my working hours - these are all points that make working at Qvest very pleasant. I also really appreciate the opportunity to organize my life more freely between work and family thanks to being able to work from home. In addition, it's nice to stay "on the ball" in the area of media technology, as our systems always make use of the latest manufacturer solutions.

Which project (or event) at Qvest do you remember most?

Right off the bat, I can think of several events and projects that I particularly enjoyed. First of all, there was a consulting project for which I flew to a customer in Singapore. It was nice to see that there are people on the other side of the world who can clearly draw on my knowledge.
I also think back fondly on the new builds of two TV stations and projects where we renewed the TV infrastructure. As a result, I've been to many places in the world that I probably wouldn't have been able to travel to otherwise.

When you think back to your beginnings at Qvest – what has changed since then, what has remained the same?

When I started, Qvest had a much smaller team. Over time, the number of employees and the scope of projects have continued to grow.

The internal structure in the technical departments has also changed. There are now more teams than back then, and they are smaller at the same time. This has positively changed the way of working overall. Important teams such as the HR department or the works council have also grown and can respond much faster to questions or problems. They do valuable work and support employees in many ways.

Fortunately, what has not changed is the constant good and respectful interaction with each other.

What tips do you have for applicants who want to work in your field?

Formulate your expectations of the job directly during the first interview. Talk about your strengths, but also reveal points where you see a need for personal development. If you go into the interview with such openness and a clear picture of your requirements and wishes, nothing will stop you from starting at Qvest.

Essentially, you should be enthusiastic about project work, which requires working with many different people, teams and customers in a wide variety of locations around the world.